On the bumpy road to recovery: resilience of public transport ridership during COVID-19 in 15 European cities

COVID-19 has a dramatic impact on the use of public transport (PT). Most European cities report a decline in PT use during 2020 and 2021. Nevertheless, not all cities report similar decline patterns or comparable resilience paths. We investigate the resilience patterns of PT use during 2020 and 2021 in 15 European cities from 11 different countries using clustering and regression analysis of data originating from Google Mobility Reports, the Oxford Policy Stringency Tracker, and COVID-19 reports. Results highlight the variety of resilience patterns of PT use in these 15 cities. These patterns vary in time and space. PT use in some cities recovered faster and more significantly than in others. Findings also suggest that changes in retail and recreational routines had the highest impact on the resilience of PT use in most cities. Changes in workplace routines are also important, but to a lesser degree. The impact of policy stringency on PT use is significant, but less consistent between the 15 cities.